Pictures are up!

All of you should have received an email with a link to pictures of the reunion on my Picasa site. If you took pictures (or movies!) at the reunion, please add them to the album, or make one of your own and share it with us.

I can't begin to express how happy I was to see everyone - the reunion was so much fun.

If I've made mistakes, please add comments to the pictures to correct them.

We really missed all of you who weren't able to make it - we hope you enjoy the pictures!

(And Charlie, don't panic - as soon as I get the original picture file from Carolyn Baker, I'll PhotoShop you in!!)

It just isn't my destiny to see my childhood friends

I regret to let you, my classmates, know that after a year of looking forward to seeing everyone again -- the fickle finger of fate has pointed at Hal and I again. Hal had to have artery surgery rather unexpectly the first of September. We thought it would be no big, big deal, and he would be ready for travel long before the reunion. Unfortunately, he contracted an infection and had to have his belly opened three weeks after surgery -- he is finally home from the hospital -- but he is attached to a wound pump, and I am giving him intravenous antibiotics daily as well. He feels well enough to come to Russellville, but the doctor prefers he stay in NC until he is through with treatment. We are both very disappointed with this turn of events, since we were looking forward to seeing everyone. Incidentally, the last reunion a similar thing happened-- so I guess it is not my destiny to get back home and relive the happy years I spent in Russellville.

Hope everyone has a great time and we will be thinking of you. Best regards to all --
Shirley Kirby Wood

...still scanning

I'm still scanning old pictures and have added some new ones to albums already posted. I think I'm coming to the end of the road, and you guys now have access to everything I have. But I AM the OCD Queen, so if I come across more, I won't be able to stop myself from scanning them. Just a friendly warning.

Here are all the links in one place:

For our graduation announcement, click HERE.

For a variety of class pictures, click HERE.

For more class pictures (probably some repeats...), click HERE.

For our commencement program, click HERE.

For girls playing in the snow at Cathy Carver's house, click HERE.

For the Junior High school girls' and boys' choruses, click HERE.

For Cathy Carver's (really Hazel's) senior scrapbook, click HERE.

For pictures from our 10th Reunion in Bowling Green, click HERE.

For our kindergarten pictures, click HERE.

For our formal graduation portrait and more recent snapshots of me with Carolyn Wilson Mallory and Pat Pepper Boleware (I'm not claiming organization is my strong point...), click HERE.

And for our yearbook photos, click HERE.

For RHS 1969 Misc. Snapshots (includes some senior trip pix), click HERE.

Jim Dodson makes a Fast Getaway!

Jim sent this tonight - take a listen, these guys are good!! I'm all ready to sing along with Mustang Sally...."ride, Sally, ride..." They'll be playing for us from 8 to 11. If you haven't already made your plans to attend the reunion, this should get you moving. Send your check and registration information to Sharon Blackwell Kirkpatrick and don't miss out!

From Jim....
We finally got our website up and running. It is www.fastgetawayband.com. There are photos, a playlist, scheduled events, 3 recordings of songs we do, and bios of hopefully everyone as soon as the rest of them get their rear ends in gear. 3 out of 6 so far is not very bad. Most of you probably remember Jimmie Warden, who played drums in the Monarchs for years.

Article from Pat Pepper Boleware

Pat came across this article in the Knoxville News Sentinel and clipped it out. Wow. We really were part of the cutting edge generation. I mean, just Sesame Street alone...!!

Don't you wish you'd had the money to buy a home that year!

Just click on the picture to enlarge the image so you can read it.

Or, you can find it HERE.

More pictures

I'm scanning them as I come to them, guys. Pat Pepper Boleware says I'm very brave, but I think I'm finally old enough to risk the ridicule. =)

For pictures of Russellville Junior High Choruses, Spring 1965, click HERE.

For pictures of some of the girls playing in the snow at my house, I'm guessing maybe spring of 1965, click HERE.

A hodgepodge of individual class photos - of the type we traded with one another. I was unsure of years. I'll edit them if you can identify the years for me. Click HERE to see them.

And to see our commencement program, click HERE.

Sorry the quality isn't better, but between the age of the pictures, the original quality, and putting them through a scanner, they suffer.

I'll add more as I find them.

By the way, if any of you have pictures you want to share, feel free. If you'd prefer for me to post them, just email them to me and I'll get them up.

Senior Scrapbook

Okay, everybody. I'm posting this thing, but you can't laugh. Right. Well, the thing is, this scrapbook was compiled by my mother, Hazel Carver. Those of you who knew her well, will see her handiwork all over the place. LOTS of tape, and LOTS of embarrassing clippings concerning me. Luckily, she didn't include a newspaper article singing my praises when I was potty-trained. Don't know how she missed that one.

So, apologies aside - it's a LOT of stuff to wade through, but I had forgotten a huge percentage of it and thought you guys might enjoy cruising through it. And you have the advantage of doing it without exposure to dust mites and mold!!

To view it, click HERE.

Hey. Did I just hear someone snickering?

Oh no! Chin tucks!

So, my doc sent me to see the torture specialists at our local physical therapy gym because I've been having problems with my neck and one shoulder. First day, this therapist (you know the one - mid-twenties) sits me down in front of a mirror (!) and asks me to do chin tucks. Oh dear.
So I've started my diet in earnest. But if things don't work out, you'll be able to recognize me at the reunion. I'll be the one in a full-body paper bag. =)

Southwest Airline Sale

No, I don't work for Southwest Airlines. (Wish I did - then I'd fly free!) I received an email this morning - they are having a sale for the next 48 hours. I thought I'd pass along the link for those of us who have a long journey to make it home to the reunion. Prices from El Paso to Nashville (my flight) look pretty good.

To find the Southwest page, click here.

One for the girls

If you're an old Nancy Drew fan, you might enjoy this book. My next-door-neighbor in Las Cruces loaned it to me for a vacation read, and I'm getting a kick out of it. Lots of information about the syndicate that created it and the women (and man!) who actually wrote the books. Alas, there is no Carolyn Keene! The name was a pseudonym used by the authors, sworn to secrecy by the syndicate. They received between $85-$125 per book. No residuals.

Thanks from Cathy...

...for all your sweet words, condolences and shared memories of my mother, Hazel Carver. She would have been very pleased, and my brother, sister and I were touched by your kindness. We're fortunate to have such good friends.

I have just spoken to Cathy and the following are arrangements for her mother's funeral.
Visitation will be Monday, June 1 at Young Funeral Home 1600 Nashville Road Russellville, KY from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
The funeral will be held at First Baptist Church in Russellville on Tuesday, June 2 at 2 p.m.
There will be visitation at the church from 12 noon until 2 p.m. before the funeral.

If you wish to make a donation in Mrs. Carver's memory the family has requested you make those to: First Baptist Church of Russellville or
The deGraffenreid Chorale-P.O. Box 733 Russellville, KY 42276

Again please keep them in your prayers.

Hello everyone-I wanted to let you all know that Hazel Carver, Cathy's mother, passed away yesterday, May 28. Cathy and her sister, Jean, are in the process of making arrangements now. As soon as I know what the arrangements are I will let everyone know.
Hazel was 91 years young! Please remember them in your prayers.

Any walkers out there?

I'm thinking it might be fun to have an informal early morning walk while we're in Russellville. I'm not sure at this point what dates I'll be in town, but I'm proposing that anyone who would like to walk (maybe about 2+ miles, moderately paced) could meet at the stadium, say around 7 a.m. I'd be up for doing this all the days I'm there. We could vary the route each day.

Give us a chance to see what's new in town - maybe some of you locals could explain to us out-of-towners what we're looking at.

Any takers?

Who are you?

Okay, everyone. Sign in. Click on your own name under the Contributors List (on the left-side of the blog). Then click on "Edit Profile." Add a current picture. (Don't know how? Don't be shy, ask your kids or grandkids, they'll talk you through it!) Tell us something about yourself. I'm betting some things have changed since high school.

- How do you like to spend your spare time? What do you do (or what did you do if you're retired) for a living? How many children do you have? Grandchildren? No children? How about pets?
- Done any kind of interesting travel? (No, the trip to the dump doesn't count, unless you saw Big Foot on the way....)
- Anything funny happen to you along life's road?
- Anything that changed the way you think?
- What do you read? What do you watch? What do you listen to?

Tell us as much as you like - but you know we're all clicking on each other's profiles, wondering what we've been doing all this time. Come on, you've done it yourself, you know you have.
And think of the conversation starters these profiles will provide once we finally get to see one another in October.

Cough it up, guys.

All but three!

We were able to find Joan Anderson yesterday (with the help of June Poor O'Leary - thanks, June!), so that only leaves three people we have no information on at all - Carolyn Armstrong, Peter Cox, and Jo Ann Williams. If you know of anyone who might know where to find them, please let us know.

By the way, Joan is still in Florida - and is hoping to make it to the reunion. Yay!

Riddle Answer

Time to end the suspense...

These were the words Mrs. Linton required us to know before we were allowed to have our very first reader - which I believe was the first book of the Alice and Jerry Reading Program. (Click here for more about those books.) As I recall, she had them displayed on an easel and we were required to identify the words quickly as she used a pointer to jump around between them. I remember being very happy when I finally "passed." And I vaguely recall that one of those words consistently hung me up, but couldn't tell you which one it was now.

So. I remember that. But I spent an hour trying to find my glasses yesterday. Isn't the human brain a strange and wonderful thing?

Riddle

(Above is another hint...)

Thanks to Frances Pate Snavely, I have this long forgotten list. Do any of you know its significance?

come look and see the here go ride my down up one two three can

Senior Class Photo Washington, DC

One of the pictures I found while in Russellville. My, we were a sharp looking bunch!

Kindergarten Graduation

I spent some time at Carolyn Wilson Mallory's home this past week and had the opportunity to scan some old pictures. This is the Kindergarten graduation picture from May 1957. As you can see, there are quite a few of us who attended school together from kindergarten through high school graduation. (Many, many, many extra points if you can name everyone in this photo. Or even half!)

I've posted the other pictures as new slide shows on the Reunion site (http://sites.google.com/site/rhs69reunionoct09) so please check them out!

If you've been digging around in those old boxes and have found some pictures of your own that you'd be willing to share, please post them or email them to me and I'll be happy to add them to the slide shows.

10th Reunion Pictures

My ex found some old pictures in a stash at his house that included these from our 10th Reunion. My apologies that they are of such poor quality. Check them out (there are two pages) at:
http://sites.google.com/site/rhs69reunionoct09/Home/pictures
and
http://sites.google.com/site/rhs69reunionoct09/pictures-page-2

What About Classmates Who Did Not Graduate with Us?

This is a brief suggestion that we start a list of classmates we remember that may appreciate an invitation to the reunion. They may have changed and attended a county school, moved away due to family reasons, or other circumstances. Do we know of any we can reach? This is probably an assignment for the local people more than those who have not lived in Logan county for close to 35+ years. I would not know where to start. I mentioned a few names in a commont to a previous post that I recall. I have thought of some more (1 or 2).

Rack your Brains!

And also, in case you can not tell, I do not type any better now than I did in Personal Typing with Mr. Reeder! Cathy, you set the bar to high. You piano players always type better.

Way Back In the Days...

Since the reunion was announced, I've been reminiscing... High School brings many memories to mind, but I also remember earlier days. Some of us began together in first grade and continued throughout the next twelve years.

1st Grade - Remember sweet little Mrs. Fuqua? She seemed ancient back then. I wonder how old she really was.

2nd Grade - My teacher was Miss Louella Johnson. I was terrified I would be placed in Mrs. Lynch's class. To a second grader she seemed like a drill sergeant!

3rd Grade - This grade is fuzzy. Seems like my teacher was Mrs. Chandler. Was that her name?

4th Grade - Mrs. Thurman - She read to us each day after lunch. I think this was also about the time of day when Billy Warden would sing "Cotton Fields Back Home."

5th Grade - Mrs. Edwards - short, sweet and stout! When she slapped you on the back, you knew you'd been slapped. I made my first "C" in her class. I remember crying and telling her that my mom would really be mad. She changed the "C" to a "B." Whew! (Wish I could have convinced Mr. Roberts to do this in 11th grade history..)

6th Grade - Mrs. White - We could never forget the "Polly stories."

7th Grade - Ms. Hedges (Miss Neatness!).. Miss Wood also stands out in my mind. I was in her class the day JFK was assassinated. Of course she was upset and crying.

8th Grade - Mrs. Jones and all the memorization! Then there was Mrs. Simmons and the Colorado experiences. All we had to do was ask a question about Colorado. She would relate stories for at least half of the class time.

Those were the days when we walked downtown for lunch. Remember munching on tuna sandwiches at the drug store? Cherry cokes at Duncans? Hamburgers and fries at Parkview Restaurant?

Remember??....

Blog Fog Rap

So you wanna read the blog
But your brain is in a fog
And you feel like that old dog
That Elvis used to sing about.

Here's some tips from your old friends -
A few helpful odds and ends -
That will help you comprehend
If you're having any doubt.

So Rita says, "Remember
That you gotta be a member
And "sign in"
Every time you wanna "comment."

And for "new posts" do the same
Or the blog won't know your name
And will treat you like your
Ugly Cousin Elmer.

And Pepper is the chick
Who knows you gotta click
On the title of each post
to see its "comments."

And Lloyd says to "save"
Or you could have a close shave
Where the words you worked and slaved over

Might

Get

Lost.

And in case this ain't enough
And it still seems kinda tough
You can ask these friends the stuff
You wanna know.

Since this ain't the world's best rap, man
Marion Fugate, Lloyd Chapman
Are the guys who wanna help
To make it stop.

The addresses of their emails
Will be waiting in your inbox
And the Class of '69 will have the
Blog That Rocks!

That football game...

Okay. This is a really fuzzy memory for me. And also a demonstration of my crap-crap-crappy football knowledge. So, here I am, exposing my stupidity for all to see. But someone in our class must have a much sharper memory of this and can fill in the missing details.

It was a football game. A really important one. And it either determined that we would get to compete in the state championship. Or it may have actually been the state championship.

And somebody named Todd (Michael Todd, maybe, but I won't swear to it) was the extraordinarily talented athlete who was the quarterback. (If memory serves, he wasn't the tallest kid in the world, but was also a star on the basketball team.)

And was this in our freshman year??

And there were only a few minutes left in the game. Or maybe it was only a few seconds. And we were down to the one yard line. Well, maybe not the one yard line, but it was really close.

And I remember screaming until I lost my voice.

But that's where my memory fails me.

I'm counting on one of you out there who will remember every last detail and can fill in the missing pieces.

Help!!

Trivia Question

Okay, boys and girls. Here's one to see how much you retain of our high school educations (and to encourage more class participation, which, incidentally, Mrs. Piper would have loved).

Question Part A: What was the book we had to read in Mrs. Piper's Junior English class? Hint: the author is depicted in this post.

Question Part B: How many people read the whole thing? (I'll 'fess up first. I didn't. Sorry, Mrs. Piper...)

Senior Trip

The RHS experience that stands out most in my mind is the senior trip. It was the first time I had been on an airplane and my first time in NYC and DC. We were in DC such a short amount of time, I don't remember much about it except that of being very tired. NYC was of course my favorite. Can't remember the name of our hotel but I believe it is still there, I remember passing it when I lived in NYC for twelve years, 1985-1997. In our room was James Dodson, Terry Hayes, and Skippy Skipper. (Hope I didn't forget anyone or get that completely wrong.) I remember we took a subway to Greenwich Village, totally fearless. We were in Washington Square and then went back to the hotel. I bought a poster of NYC that I had in my dorm room in college. I remember the Copacabana nightclub and Paul Anka. Think I still have my ashtray from there. Just threw out my NYC scrapbook from that trip last year.

My decision to leave the county school system and enroll at RHS, changed my life. It broadened my horizons more than I can describe here. Without RHS, I would never have entered and graduated from the University of Kentucky. And without my introduction to the travel and experiences of the senior trip, I probably would not have lived in NYC.

Reasons to Come and See "Old" Friends

Hello Everybody,

You may ask yourself, "Why would I want to attend that darn Reunion?" Well I will try to reflect on some reasons. I am sure we all have asked "Whatever happened to __________?" I have people I wonder about. I have people I have not seen since graduation that I would like to see. My last reunion was the 20 year one, so I have seen very few people for 20 years. I feel many of you have much the same idea as I, that very few, if any, people think about "me." Well you may be surprised. I will give you an example. I have a spot on my arm where one of you stuck me with a pencil in 10th grade. Whenever I see that spot I think of you. We all have memories, we all have past friends we lost touch of, and we all have someone we would like to see.

People go to reunions for many reasons, some good, and some not so good. I hope we all find a good one and make the effort to come. We need not worry what people will think about how we look, what we drive, and all those things. (I am fat, gray and bald, and drive a Nissan) We need to come and see "old" friends and reflect on the times we had together. I might even see the one of you who stuck me!

Those of you who stayed close to home need to come also. Those who moved away need you to help us learn what happened to "home." It seems that people who live close are less likely to come, for whatever reason. You keep in touch with some and feel connected. Those of us who moved away have less connections and would like to renew some of them.

Well I have been sentimental enough for now, so I'll leave this for the next one of you to build on. Lets see each other at the reunion and, to borrow a line from Paul Harvey, learn "The rest of the Story."

Wanted: Brave People

Thanks for all your reponses to my email. It appears that a lot of people are encountering problems when trying to post to our blog.

Here are some helpful links, that should make it easier.
According to Google, you need to first create a Google account. (I know, I wrote a post that said you DIDN'T need one - which I copied from my brother - but if you're having trouble, try creating one anyhow.)
https://www.google.com/accounts/NewAccount?service=blogger&continue

Then, every time you log in to the blog site, you’ll need to sign in.
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=41384

Once you’re signed in, you’ll be allowed to start a new post or make comments on someone else’s post. (You can look at the blog without signing in, but in order to write something yourself, you have to be signed in.)
http://help.blogger.com/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=41378

Okay. Who’s going to be the first brave soul to give it a try?

p.s. About half the time, when I hit the "Publish Post" button, it gives me an error message. But if I hit the "Save Now" button, it takes me to a window where I just click next to my new post and THEN ask it to publish. For some reason, this always works.

You don't really need a separate Google email account...

... to use our RHS Class of '69 blog site. You can just use your standard email address. Here's how:

When you're first invited to join, you'll be getting an email from Blogger saying
"The Blogger user Cathy Carver has invited you to contribute to the blog: RHS Class of '69."

Now, just ignore the phrase "Don't have a Google Account?"
click on username (email) - use a different account
You'll now get a new screen. In the new screen, under username, type in your current email address that you want to use. Next type in your password, then to accept the invitation, check on the remember me box, then click on Accept Invitation. Finally, click on Edit User Profile. Make whatever additions or changes you want. At a minimum you'll want to include your screen name (e.g. Marion). It's also a good time to include a photo of yourself (a photo file from your computer's hard drive, if you have one). Then at the bottom of this screen click on Save Profile. That's all - you're finished and are ready to post to the blog, make replies (comments) to other posts, etc. If you have questions, you can email them to me at cathryn.carver@gmail.com

Where are we now?

Wondering where some of us have gotten to? Check out the new link on this blog and on our Reunion Webpage (http://sites.google.com/site/rhs69reunionoct09/).

Or click "View Larger Map" below this image:

View Larger Map

Wanna dance?

Remember those dances in junior high where all the boys were flattened against one wall and all the girls were flattened against the opposite wall and it was about 300 miles across the gym floor? Don't be shy, guys. Post some information about yourself!

If you've never posted to a blog before, it takes a little getting used to, but it's not hard once you get going. (Kind of like "The Frug" or "The Mashed Potato.")

There are two ways to post:

1. If you have something new to say, look up in the right hand corner right by your name and click on "New Post." A new window with a text box will pop up and you can type away. If you want to get fancey, there are tools in the top margin of the window for changing the font or even for adding a link to another web page or a picture or a video clip. Once youre finished, just click on the orange "PUBLISH POST" tab below the text box.

If you suddenly realize you made a mistake (like you just remembered that that funny story you told was actually about Pat Pepper and not Carolyn Wilson), don't worry. You can edit your post.

Just click on "New Post" exactly the same way you did when you made the post, and look at the headings above the textbox. Right next to the one that says "Create" you'll see one that says "Edit Posts." Click on that one and you can change your post so that Pat Pepper is going to be the one who gets in your face when we all meet in October.

2. If you want to make a comment about a post someone else has left, look just under the post and you'll see something that looks like this: Posted by Cathy Carver at 7:09 AM 0 comments.
Click on the "O comments" and a box will pop up for you to type in. (Here's where Pepper gets to tell her version of the story!)

Let's get this party started!

Caps and gowns

So how do you suppose they got us to all stand so still? Fear of Mrs. Piper? Or were we all just mesmerized by George?

Old gym

This picture came from an email forwarded by James Milam of Russellville. The message below is from Mary Ewing.

These are pictures of the old Logan Elementary School...the gym and where the old Logan College swimming pool was...ALL of this is being removed. The "Tech Building" which was built several years ago (behind the LES) will remained. I thought you might like to see what is going on!!! These pictures were made by JoAnne Hedges Moffat who lives in Granville Clark's home. Love, Mary Ewing

Reunion Planned

I know, I know, you guys already know about this. I'm just trying my hand at getting a blog started.

But just in case you DON'T know, our 40th Reunion is in the works. I'm coming all the way from New Mexico, so no excuses for not coming. Jump on a plane, hop in a car, stick out your thumb, but be there!

Date: October 10

Time: 7-10 p.m.

Place: RHS Lobby

Attire: casual

Cost: $20-25 per person (to be determined)

Meal: finger foods